Australia news live update: NSW and Victoria each record 21 Covid deaths; cases in hospital top 3,700; $1,000 fines in NSW for not reporting positive RATs

Here’s an update on the movements of Cyclone Tiffany, via AAP:

A tropical cyclone that slammed into Queensland before tracking west has made landfall in the Northern Territory.
Cyclone Tiffany started crossing the coast as a category one system about 10am on Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
It is currently east of Ngukurr, 635km south east of Darwin, and south of Groote Eylandt, and heading west at 27km/h.
It was forecast to impact the NT’s gulf coast as a category two system but weakened overnight.
The system is expected to continue tracking west across the Top End throughout the day and weaken below cyclone strength over land.
A warning has been issued for communities from Alyangula to Port McArthur, including Port Roper and the remote communities of Ngukurr and Numbulwar, 780km south east of Darwin.
Wind gusts up to 100km/h are likely from Port Roper to the Nathan River area.
A storm tide bringing damaging waves and flooding is likely between nearby Port McArthur and Alyangula, and on Groote Eylandt.
Heavy rain across parts of the Arnhem Land and Daly District may cause flooding of low lying areas as rivers rise.
Tiffany was a category two cyclone packing winds of up to 130km/h when it crossed the east coast of the Cape York Peninsula on Monday afternoon.
It weakened to a tropical low overland, dumping 120mm of rain in some areas in the 24 hours to 9am on Monday.
Three people were rescued after their vehicle got caught in floodwaters triggered in far north Queensland, northwest of Cairns.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has released a statement about Renata Voracova having her visa cancelled ahead of the Australian Open. The Czech doubles specialist had received a vaccination exemption similar to that of Novak Djokovic before her visa was cancelled (she has said she plans to be vaccinated).

The WTA says that while it appreciated the efforts of Tennis Australia in staging a tournament during the pandemic, it was “unfortunate” Voracova was deported after seemingly doing everything she had been required to do. Full statement:

The press conference has wrapped up in Queensland, which today reported a record 22,069 new Covid cases, and an increase in patients in hospital and in ICU.

Yvette D’Ath says she’s not sure what the federal government’s plan is to staff aged care centres once the Omicron waves hits its peak (Gerrard mentioned earlier this week this was expected in Queensland in late January or early February, with the peak of hospitalisations to occur a week later).

She says she will raise this with the federal government later this week.

Dr John Gerrard, the Queensland CHO, says he is concerned about vaccination rates in some First Nations communities.

The state is actively pursuing measures to increase the rates, he says. No detail about what these measures are, or which specific communities are of concern.

Thank you for the graft this morning Caitlin.

I’m still bringing you bits and pieces from the Queensland Covid update. The health minister, Yvette D’Ath, is repeating her calls for the federal government to supply more RATs. She says:

Is there ready supply out there, that anyone who wants one can get one? No.

If the commonwealth can do anything more, to get more in the hands of Queenslanders, they have to do it, because businesses are suffering.

With that, I will pass you briefly to the highly capable Nino Bucci.

Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr John Gerrard, is speaking now.

He says triple-vaccinated people are nine times less likely to end up in hospital than the unvaccinated:

We now have enough data from around 500 patients to see some real trends in who’s ending up in Queensland hospitals and the importance of boosted vaccination is very clear.

If you are unvaccinated, you are nine times more likely to end up in hospital than if you have received a boosted vaccination – three doses of a vaccine.

Some 5,558 five-to-11 year olds received a booster shot yesterday, D’Ath says.

Thanks to all the mums and dads who are lining up with the kids.

Some 748,053 boosters have been administered across the state.

Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath is up.

The state has recorded 22,069 new Covid cases, from 57,604 tests.

There are 30 people being treated in ICU including eight who are ventilated, up from 27 yesterday, and 525 Covid positive patients in wards. That’s up from 502 yesterday.

She says what is seen in hospitals and ICU reflects Queensland’s vaccination rates.

Have a peruse of Labor’s plan for disaster readiness, released today, here. It lays out up to $200m per year on disaster prevention and resilience. If matched by state, territory or local governments, that would equate to $400m annually.

It comes as opposition leader Anthony Albanese continues his seventh day of his tour-de-Queensland (he isn’t calling it that). He is currently in Mackay, and due to have lunch with the Country Women’s Association imminently.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus has weighed in on tomorrow’s national cabinet meeting, which will discuss, among other things, new health advice relating to isolation requirements for Covid-affected workers.

Unions are prioritising making rapid antigen tests free and accessible.

The Australian Republic Movement has unveiled its plan for the country to find a new head of state, which would involve a national ballot, AAP’s Alex Mitchell reports.

The group says federal, state and territory parliaments should nominate a shortlist of candidates for head of state, which would then be put to a national ballot of voters. The federal parliament would be able to nominate up to three people while states and territories would nominate one person each.

The ballot winner would get a five-year term and would be responsible for appointing a prime minister with majority support in the House of Representatives, or calling an election if that support does not exist.

But the head of state would have no authority in day-to-day governance or passing laws. The model was developed across a two-year period, with more than 10,000 Australians consulted through surveys, polls and meetings.

ARM chair Peter FitzSimons said the “Australian Choice” model brought responsibility to citizens to elect their own leaders:

This will give all Australian voters a merit-based choice about who speaks for them as head of state. The decision will be in their hands, unlike now, where it is luck of the draw who we get from the British Royal Family.